MIXING
PAINT
and PAPER
Why bother to add collaged paper to a
painting?
v
To create texture
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To add pattern and line
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To create detail which would be time-consuming to do with paint
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To make shapes
Before you introduce imagery into your
paintings, try mixing paper and paint in a fairly intuitive fashion. Take a
couple of sheets of strong paper as your supports:
On one of them stick colored shapes and patterns taken from magazines
(don't think of what they represent, so abstract patterns or partial images are
best).
Stick the
pieces down. They can overlap or remain separated.
Paint over
parts of them and leave others showing.
On the second sheet, alternate layers of paint with paper. In other words,
you could begin by painting over the whole surface; then add some collage; then
paint over part of this; then add more collage, etc., etc. By the time you have
finished you will have built up a rich, abstract surface.
PAINT
+ FOUND IMAGES
There are many different ways of
incorporating 'found' images in your paintings. At first concentrate on the most
basic:
Paint
as background, collage on top
This is the easiest way of all to
create a mixed media collage. It involves 3 basic steps:
(1)
Apply an interesting mix of colors to your support.
(2)
Select a few found images from photographs, magazines, or books and stick
them onto the 'background' with matte medium.
(3) Disguise some edges of your collaged pieces, emphasize others with crayons, pastels, or paint.
Step
1: Painting the 'background
Remember that
this is not the finished artwork itself, so there's no need to think about
composition at this stage. The most
important thing is to apply color in an interesting way.
You will probably need very few shapes. You might try:
·
brushing paint on thickly (impasto) with
a large brush or palette knife, straight from the tube, letting colors mix right
on the paper
·
using a soft nylon flat brush to wash on
thin layers of color (glazes), letting each dry before you apply the next.
·
scratching and scraping into paint just
before it dries to reveal part of the layer below and to add texture
·
applying paint with a wad of crinkled
newspaper over a smooth base color
·
spraying the paint with water after it
has been applied, to create bursts and runs, tilting the paper
·
blotting still-wet paint with tissues or
sponges
·
'printing' abstract patterns with
sponges, netting, bubble-wrap.
Step
2: Adding found images
The selection
process is the most important here. It can take a long time to find just the
right images to fit your background. Consider color, size, shape, value, and
placement. You can tear or cut out the pictures.
Ask yourself:
·
Do I want the color to contrast or merge
in?
·
How can I increase the impact by choosing
an appropriate value (i.e. dark against light; light against dark)?
·
Where do I want my focal point to be?
(One third of the way down and across the page is a 'classic' placement. The
center is also a strong position, provided you have enough other interest to
take the viewer away from it later.) Here are other ways to draw attention to an
image:
Size : the largest shape will stand out
Shape : bold,
geometric shapes with hard edges
an unexpected, irregular shape when everything else is plain
several small, highly patterned shapes in a plain field
Faces (and the eyes especially) are always attractive to the human eye, so be
aware that wherever you put one, it will not go unnoticed.
Try out your collage elements in several
different positions before you make a final decision. This is an important part
of the design process and can make or break your painting.
Finally, take each piece off one-by-one;
apply matte medium to the back (AND the support, if the paper is fairly thick);
smooth it out with your hand or a brayer in ONE DIRECTION only to remove
creases. This is not essential, of course, because creases can add to the
interest.
Step
3: Treating the edges
To avoid your finished collage looking
like nothing more than pictures stuck on a painted background (which it IS!),
you need to take a good look at the edges of the collaged papers.
Cut edges are known as 'hard' edges. In other words they contrast
strongly with the background paint. In some places, particularly those to which
you want to draw attention, this can be a good thing. Sometimes, however, you
will want the collaged element to mix with the background.
Disguising a hard edge Try some of these methods:
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rub a crayon in a similar color to either the background or the collage
over the edge in a feathered pattern. This will effectively soften, or blur, the
edge.
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similarly, apply paint of a similar color loosely over the edge, as if
painting over the lines .
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scrape into the edge with a knife, tearing off some of the collage (known
as decollage), thus disrupting the straight line.
The opposite of a hard edge is a soft
edge. You will find these where your paper has been torn unevenly,
especially when the paper is thin. Occasionally you may want to make these torn
edges more obvious. Try this:
Emphasizing a soft edge
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With a pen or colored pencil draw a hard line in a contrasting value all
along the edge
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Create a 3-D effect by painting a shadow in a darker color just outside
the torn edge
©ANN BALDWIN 2000